Turning to Stone

This well-done Canadian production of life behind bars for a convicted female drug smuggler is a real eye-opener. It mirrors quite a few scenes from the classic "Midnight Express" a hit from a decade earlier.

As in that film, a young person gets caught trying to smuggle drugs on the airlines.

In this case, it is a young woman played by Nicky Guadagni. She encounters a prison boss lady on the inside played convincingly by Shirley Douglas. The boss lady wants Nicky's dad to do some drug dealing for her on the outside, a common practice of lifers in prison.

The film does not exploit the women shown in this film; it does quite the opposite; it exposes the horrors of women's prisons throughout the world. In this case it's Canada, but these situations would occur in most women's prisons in most other countries.

So, Nicky is faced with a moral dilemma; will she put her father at risk to save her own skin? Or will she face the music from the boss lady for not delivering the goods? Tune in for yourself.